Being creative these days had become something hard, especially if you are working from home, designing with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Sometimes Photoshop does not seem to listen to the user, it produces a different outcome and many times you find yourself saying “But last time I was better!” That is not because of Photoshop! It is because of you and your lack of creativity.




1) The Clear Mind.

The most important thing you need when starting a creative design is having a clear mind, no negative thoughts, no worries, maybe no thoughts at all! It is not hard to get in such a special state of mind. All you need to do is wish for it, dream for it and imagine that you have already done it.

Doing this will eliminate stress and will make you able to feel other feeling at will, feelings like passion for what you do, love or excitement.

2) See it before you draw it.



The next thing you need to do is visualize what you want to create, visualize the colors, the shapes, the details that you would like to see in your real artwork. Yes, artwork, imagine you will create a masterpiece from the very beginning! For some reason music helps a lot in this visualization process, at least for me. Try to get comfortable and relax. It should be easier for you to achieve this if you have a clear mind.

No imagine how will you work, how will you ‘move the mouse’; imagine how will your face will look while you see how great it your design looks. Imagine! Imagine! Imagine!

3) “I’ll love it anyway”.



When you think you are ready to give it a go, get started, work in a relaxed rhythm. When something doesn’t go the way you want it, just say this in your mind “Could be better, lets try this..” and stare at the screen as it was alive, look at it as if you are in control, and let it know that there will be some changes. Feel in control, be calm, make the changes and resolve the unwanted outcome.

4) The beauty of creation.



It does not matter that your work should have been done yesterday. It doesn’t matter that your boss need something that you don’t like, it doesn’t matter if the contest will end in 2 hours, nothing matters! It is just you and your work. You do not do it as someone requested it. You do it for the beauty of creating, to feel the joy, the warmth of being a creator.

Like this, you will start to love your work, your style and become truly relaxed, out of reach. In my opinion, creation is not something rational. It is something that comes right from the bottom of the soul. Soul and ration are two things that do not get along to well when it comes to art.

5) Distraction is the mother of trouble.



So what you have to chat with your friend at 5 o’clock? You are creating something. That is the most important action you can take on this life. Chatting can wait. The same thing goes for other distraction factors that might appear.

What if someone calls you and tells you to go out with them right at that very moment? Well, you have to decide for yourself what to do then. If you know you get in the creative mood rarely, then I suggest you consider a lot before hitting close in Photoshop or Illustrator.

Try not to get distracted. It’s not the best thing to make your motivation and passion skip from creating a million dollar design (ok, not exactly 1 million dollar one…) to watching your TV series again. I know you like the show, but you love creating more than everything else!

6) It is never perfect.

If you will ever create something exactly the way you imagine it, then please PM me and tell me your story, I’d love to hear about it! Imagination is not reality. Actually, it’s just a part of reality. When you imagine something you don’t see exactly shapes and colors, it’s something in between dream and reality. Something that looks like and “X” in your mind might look like a … “O” in reality.

Trying to make something exactly as you imagine it is impossible. Most of the time, if you truly get in a creative state, you will most likely find a better effect, a better color or shape while you design.

7) Final version is for your boss.



Never try to say something like “This is the final version” to you. Say that to your boss after you have made 5-10 reviews on the design and created 4-7 different outcomes. For a creator, the creation can always be perfected. Remember hat well!

I hope this will inspire all the designers that read my article. I’ve written it fast, this 7 tips came in my mind from in an instant. Personal experience, failures and success said their word. Again, hope you enjoyed this, feel free to add your words on this topic, and good bye!

Labels: Basics, Ideas